


Bound with Blood

by SociallyAwkwardFox



Series: Widofjord Week 2020 [3]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Blood Pact, Falling In Love, M/M, Marriage, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Sharing Emotions, Temporary Character Death, Widofjord Week (Critical Role)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:47:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24798688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SociallyAwkwardFox/pseuds/SociallyAwkwardFox
Summary: After making the blood pact in Dashilla's Lair, Fjord and Caleb begin to experience an unexpected side effect.
Relationships: Fjord/Caleb Widogast
Series: Widofjord Week 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1793635
Comments: 10
Kudos: 105





	Bound with Blood

The swirl of red tendrils in the water between them greeted him whenever he closed his eyes for days following their pact. A dagger cutting deeper and deeper into Caleb's palm as what little blood he had left oozed from the cut. The warmth of their hands clasped together with their open wounds pressed against each other. Determination in Caleb's eyes as he gripped a little tighter before letting go. The steady sting of salt water against the wound on their way back to the surface.

With an annoyed huff, he quit his poor attempt to sleep and turned on the oil lamp sitting on his desk to cast low light in the room. As he stared at the raised scar on the palm of his left hand, it gave a little throb. The skin was still tender from cutting into it, which probably did little to prevent his mind from going back to that moment. If anything, it brought the image of Caleb across from him with his loose hair swirling around him and even paler than normal skin to the forefront of his mind. All it took was a little poking and Caleb hadn't hesitated.

He brought his other hand up to run through his hair and tugged lightly at the ends, then reached to turn the light back off. Before he could, a rush of panic and anxiety suddenly flooded through his body. It felt like the entire world dropped out from under him sending him plummeting into darkness. His lungs struggled to take in air as he gasped desperately for breath to fill his lungs.

While the panic didn't go away, Fjord managed to calm himself enough to think straight. His legs moved shakily as he stumbled over to the door with his mind reeling. The emotions felt completely foreign despite the fact he could feel the physical weight of them. Another deep breath helped him pull open the door and wander up the stairs to the deck of the ship.

One of the crew members noticed him standing at the top of the stairs, then flicked their eyes up to the crow's nest. Instinctively, he followed their gaze and saw the soft flicker of light that usually meant their wizard decided to take his studies up there. As quickly as possible, Fjord made his way up to the crow's nest where he found Caleb crammed in a corner. Even with his head tucked between his knees, the sound of labored breathing cut through the silence of the night.

Fjord took slow, cautious steps across the small space separating them, then dropped down to his knees in front of him. For a second his hand hovered uncertainly above Caleb's, before he dropped them back to his side. The last thing he wanted to do was make it worse by scaring Caleb half to death trying to help him.

“Caleb?” Despite the anxiety still constricting his chest, his voice came out calm and steady. “Caleb, can you please lift your head for me?”

Time dragged on as he waited for a reaction from Caleb that had Fjord exhaling a sigh of relief when he finally lifted his head. Dry tear tracks stained his cheeks and his eyes were puffy and red from crying. Even though he heard Fjord, the look in his eyes was completely vacant as he stared blankly ahead.

“That’s good. Now, I need you to breath with me. In and out. In and out.” When Caleb continued to struggle, he gently took one of Caleb's hands and pressed it against Fjord's chest to give him something physical to copy. “You can do it, Caleb. In and out. In and out.”

It took several failed attempts before Caleb's breathing began to even out, until it finally returned to normal. The hand on his chest gripped his shirt in a vice grip that might have ripped the fabric if it weren't so loose. Caleb tipped his head back to look up at the stars, then dropped it back down to meet Fjord's eyes after taking several deep breaths.

“Thank you, Fjord. Sorry for interrupting your evening.”

“There's no reason to apologize. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“You've done more than enough. I'll be fine on my own.”

“For some reason, I don't believe that for one second.” When Caleb turned his eyes away and refused to meet his gaze, Fjord gently placed his fingers under his chin to lift his head up. “How about we start by getting you down from here?”

Confusion wrinkled Caleb's brow, until he glanced around the crow's nest. “Oh, how did you find me up here?”

“The light. Do you want to come down now?”

“It is probably a good idea.”

“Okay. I'll go first, so I can help you if something happens.”

After getting a nod of confirmation for Caleb, Fjord gathered the supplies scattered around the crow's nest into Caleb's bag and slung it over his shoulder. Once he rose to his feet, he held out a hand to help Caleb up, then steadied him when his legs wobbled. He waited until he was sure Caleb could walk on his own to start making his way down the ladder. Every few rungs, he tipped his head back to check on Caleb, until his feet landed on the deck.

When Caleb joined him, Fjord placed on a light hand on his elbow as he began to guide him below deck. Instead of taking him to his normal room, he led Caleb to the captain's quarters and shut the door behind them. After encouraging Caleb to take a seat on the bed, Fjord grabbed a pitcher of water and small wash cloth. A few strokes of the damp cloth wiped the tear stains from his face leaving his swollen eyes the only evidence he'd been crying. 

Before Caleb could protest, Fjord knelt down to remove his shoes and placed them out of the way. The coat came off with some coaxing followed by the tie he started using to keep his hair out of his face. It took a firm press of his hand against Caleb's shoulder and a reassuring smile to get him to lie down, but he did eventually curl up against the wall. Once he was sure Caleb wouldn't bolt, Fjord went to turn off the oil lamp still burning on his desk.

His dark vision allowed him to make it safely over to the bed and crawl in without disturbing the wizard already beginning to doze. Before closing his eyes to try to sleep once again, he waited for Caleb's eyes to slip shut and for his breathing to even out. After a long while of calm from the wizard, Fjord let himself fall into a peaceful sleep for the first time in weeks.

* * *

Caleb jolted awake at the feeling of his lungs filling with water, until he couldn't breathe. He rolled to the side coughing and spluttering, but no water came out. Despite the lack of water, the feeling of drowning lingered as he looked around the hut for a source. Everything clicked into place when his eyes landed on Fjord twisting around in his sleep.

As quietly as possible, Caleb rushed across the hut to shake Fjord's shoulder hard enough to rouse him from the nightmare. Yellow eyes flew open as Fjord rolled to the side the same way Caleb had when he woke. Unlike Caleb, water spewed from his lips onto the dirt, until his lungs were clear, and he could breathe again. After checking on the rest of the Nein, Fjord pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Another nightmare?”

“Yes. Sorry for waking you.”

“I-” The words died in his throat at the realization that the sound of Fjord tossing and turning hadn't been the thing to wake him. “I woke because I felt like I was drowning. It was very strange.”

“Did you see anything?”

“No, did you?”

“It was the same nightmare I normally have when this happens.”

“Has anything like this happened to you?”

Fjord reached up to pick nervously at his tusks, then quickly dropped his hand in his lap. “Actually, now that you mention it, something did happen before I helped you in the crow's nest. Out of nowhere I started feeling panic and anxiety, then I found you. Do you think something is going on?”

“That does certainly sound like something.”

“Well, there's only one thing I can think of that might've caused something like this.”

The twinge of the scar on his hand sent a wave of worry through him at the implication of Fjord's words. In the dim light, he couldn't see the matching mark on Fjord's palm, but his eyes instinctively focused on where he knew it would be. After the roiling storm that covered the area above Dashilla's lair not long after they left, he thought that would be the end of it. Sure, they made a pact in blood, but he hadn't felt any outside magic acting on their deal. The scars were a reminder of their pact and that was all.

“Caleb? Have you ever heard of anything like this happening?”

“We made a pact with blood, but we did not imbue it with any magic or complete a ritual. It shouldn't be anything more than a pact we sealed with blood.”

“What if magic were involved?”

With a heavy sigh, Caleb pressed his fingers hard into the scar. “True blood pacts can be very dangerous. It is all about the intent of the words spoken. They're not something to be taken lightly, and definitely not something you do with an untrustworthy being.”

“How dangerous are we talking?”

“Individuals have used them as steppingstones to immortality. They bind their life to others, so if death were to come to them, it takes the other instead.”

“Do you think that's what happened?”

“It's unlikely this pact is something of that extent, but it's still concerning. Until we know the nature of this pact, we don't know whether it could cause either of us physical harm.”

“I'm guessing you don't happen to have a book on that.”

“No, and the only place I could think of where we'd have access to information like that is the Cobalt Soul.”

“Fuck.” Fjord ran a hand through his hair causing it to stick up in odd directions. “We'll figure this out. It might take longer than we like, but as long as we keep track of what sets it off, we can put the pieces together.”

“So far, it seems to be strong negative emotions. You felt my panic and I felt yours.”

“Maybe, it's a protection thing. If the other is in distress, we get tipped off to it, so we know the other needs help.”

“Maybe, only two instances isn't a lot to go off of, but we can consider that as a starting point.”

“Now, the real question, should we tell the others about this? They'll be pissed if we don't and they find out on their own.”

A nervous press against the scar sent a spike of pain up his arm that he completely ignored. “It is best we tell them something is happening, but we are unclear what exactly that is. If something were to happen in battle that caused both of us to become incapacitated because of this, they need to know that is a possibility. I do not want any of them getting hurt because of decisions we made.”

“Right. How do you think we should do it?”

“I would like to talk to Nott privately about it.”

“That's fair. What about everyone else?”

“Whatever you would prefer. We could speak to all of them individually or just get it all over with at once.”

“Let me think about it. I'll tell you my decision after you talk to Nott.”

“I will talk to her soon.” After a moment of hesitation, Caleb placed his hand on Fjord's forearm and gave a light squeeze. “We will figure this out. It might take some time, but we will.”

“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”

“You are not funny.”

“Caleb, I know we're going to figure this out. Even if it takes us stumbling around for a long time with no clear direction, we'll get there eventually. I trust you.”

“That does not seem like a good idea after the mess I got us in.”

“If I remember correctly, I'm the one that suggested messing around down there in the first place. That being said, pointing blame isn't going to help the situation.”

“You are right.”

A soft smile quirked up Fjord's lips. “Glad you agree. Now, get back to sleep. We've got a long day of travel ahead of us.”

“You too. It will not be any better if you can hardly stay on your feet.”

“Don't worry. I'm going back to sleep. Promise.”

* * *

“Hey, man.” Beau dropped into the chair next to his at the corner table of the inn they were staying at for the night. “How, uh, how are you doing?”

“I'm fine. It was an easy day of travel, so I can't say I have much to complain about.”

“I meant with the whole thing.”

A raised eyebrow got him a groan and a jerky wave in the general direction of where the rest of their party sat at the bar. “That does not clarify anything. What are you asking about?”

“The thing that you told us all about. The hand thing.”

“Oh, why didn't you just say that in the first place?”

“We're in a shit-hole town. You never know what people might be listening in a place like this. It's not a good idea if someone finds out about that.”

“I didn't plan on going and shouting about it from the rooftops but thank you for the concern.”

“You still haven't answered my question.” She poked at his hand hard enough his fingers twitched to close his palm from the assault. “How are you doing?”

“Nothing weird has happened if that's what you're worried about. We haven't even felt the thing since that last incident we told you about.”

“That's good. Dashilla's lair was full of all kinds of creepy shit and it would suck if this turned out to be something to do with that.”

“I think it has less to do with her lair and more to do with what Caleb and I decided to do, but I guess there's a possibility something in there caused this.”

“There was some funky shit in there. We don't know what all of it did, and we left her alive.”

“No, we don't, but there's nothing we can do about it now.”

“We could go back. For all we know, this thing could kill you or him or both of you.”

He looked down at the scar carved into his palm, then turned his attention back to Beau. “Nothing crazy has happened yet, so I'm inclined to believe this is the extent of it or it's going to take time to affect us. Either way, there's no point going back when we don't even know what we're looking for.”

“I hope you're right for everyone's sake. Nott might actually kill you if something happens to Caleb because of this and who knows what he'll do if this gets you killed. I don't even want to think about something happening to both of you.”

“Then stop thinking about it. We're both fine.”

“Yeah. It seems like it.”

Silence fell between them as Beau focused on draining her tankard of ale as quickly as possible. While she did that, Fjord let his mind wander to the journey ahead of them and the supplies they would need to procure before leaving. All thoughts went out the window when a wave of fondness rolled through him. His eyes immediately snapped over to Caleb and found the man watching Nott as she talked animatedly with her hands.

“What are you making that face for?” Following his line of sight, Beau tracked his attention to Caleb sitting at the bar. “Wait, is there something more going on here that you didn't tell us?”

“Like what?”

“Like you've been spending more time together for more than just discussing this thing.”

“Doing what?”

“I'm trying not to think about that.”

Fjord rolled his eyes at the disgusted look on Beau's face. “We're two consenting adults. If something like that were going on between us, there's no reason to act like it's weird. We didn't make it weird after your thing with Keg.”

“Yeah, but we barely knew her. We know both of you. It's weird.”

“Friends dating is weird?”

“No, I just mean the two of you would be weird to think about together.”

“Why? We're around the same age and we have similar interests.”

“You're a close friend, and Caleb is...”

“Like a brother?” A smirk earned him a glare from Beau, but she didn't attempt to make an argument to the contrary. “There's nothing wrong with thinking of Caleb as a brother. You've got the whole concerned but annoyed with each other thing going on. I wouldn't be surprised if people that don't know you draw that conclusion.”

“We look nothing alike.”

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean much. You could be half-siblings or one of you could look like one parent and the other one looks like the other. It's really not that much of a stretch is all I'm saying.”

“Whatever. It doesn't even matter since there's nothing going on between the two of you.”

With a clap on the back of her shoulder, he rose from his chair. “I'm going to head to bed. Don't have too much to drink tonight. We've got an early morning ahead of us.”

“Get some sleep, old man.”

After flipping her off, his feet carried him to the bar to grab a key from Jester and tap Caleb on the shoulder. Blue eyes searched his face for a few long seconds, then Caleb slid out of the stool with a little wave at Nott when she started to stand. While she still seemed tempted to follow, Nott remained in her stool as they made their way up the stairs. Fjord unlocked the door to the room he'd be sharing with Caduceus, then motioned for Caleb to go in first.

“Is something the matter, Fjord?”

“Well, there's an issue with our current assumption that this pact is something that alerts the other when we're vulnerable.”

“What is the issue?”

“I, uh, felt you downstairs, but it wasn't anything negative. You felt... fond.”

A thoughtful hum slipped from Caleb's lips as his eyebrows wrinkled up in concern. “So, the extent of these emotional transfers is more than just panic or fear. It's possible that the longer this pact remains, the more we'll become in tune with each other. It's also possible that it's about the degree of the emotion.”

“So, only strong emotions are felt by the other person?”

“That is one theory, but there's no way to know with what we know now.”

“We could try to replicate it. See if heightened emotions trigger it.”

“Unless we want to stab each other, I don't see how we would do that. It's difficult to fake those kinds of emotions.”

“Then we'll just continue to keep track of it, until we find more information.”

* * *

The sound of chatter coming from the den greeted Caleb as he stepped into the house and closed the door behind him. He followed the sound of voices to find the Nein spread around the room. Beau took up an entire couch on her own with Frumpkin curled up on her lap, Nott and Jester sat on the floor in a pile of pillows and blankets, Yasha and Caduceus had the two chairs by the window. The only open space left was a spot on the loveseat that Fjord occupied the other side of. When Caleb realized Fjord was asleep with his head resting on the hand he had propped on the arm of the loveseat, he made his movements slower to avoid waking him as he took a seat.

All chance of Fjord remaining asleep went out the window when Jester's excited voice raised to greet him. “Caleb! You're finally back. How was your date with the handsome wizard?”

“We discussed magical theory and he gave me some books that might provide insight on this pact.”

“Did he try to sweep you off your feet with his magical prowess?”

“You are starting to confuse real life with your books again. All we did was discuss magic.”

“Well, it would've been much more interesting if he tried to sweep you off your feet.”

“It might surprise you that I found our discussion interesting.” Before Jester could make fun of him, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes to see Fjord looking curiously at the books. “Most of these are in Elvish, but there is one in Common if you wanted to look for something in here.”

After a moment of hesitation, Fjord accepted the book held out to him and studied the ornate cover. “I'm not sure how much help I can be with this, but I think I can manage to find mention of blood pact in.”

“You'll be fine. Don't let the big words distract you.”

“Very funny, Caleb.”

“I am known for my wit.”

Before opening the book, Fjord rolled his eyes at him, but didn't appear interested in arguing with him over the comment. While Fjord focused on his book, Caleb started in on the most promising of the others. When he found nothing in that one, he moved to the next and the next after that, until he finally found something. Unlike the other books, this one didn't simply contain a passing mention of blood pacts. It went into detail on the creation, different variations and consequences.

Several times reading the entry on blood pacts helped click the pieces slowly into place, until he had the full picture. After placing the other books on the ground, he shuffled closer to Fjord with the book open in his lap. The half-orc set his own book on the arm of the loveseat, then looked over his shoulder at the page.

“Are you going to tell me what I'm looking at?”

“This is talking about the creation of blood pacts. According to this, depending on the degree of the arrangement and the preparations put into it, the strength and purpose of the bond will differ from case to case. Since we didn't include any outside elements like diamonds or other expensive spell components, the pact we made shouldn't be life threatening for either of us. It's possible to break the bond, but it might be more trouble than it's worth.”

“Why is that?”

“The components are either expensive or difficult to come by or both. The other option is one of us dies. Unless we run into issues, the means might outweigh the gains of severing it.”

“Does that tell us a way to figure out what the details of the pact are?”

“Not precisely." Caleb flipped a few pages to get to the one dealing with information on creating a blood pact. "It gives information on the requirements for a blood pact to be formed and the importance of wording. There's also a mention of a few common types of blood pacts.”

“Common types?”

“Blood pacts were not always seen as an evil or negative tie between people. They used to be used for marriage or to bind two people as a show of their loyalty. That fell out of fashion when people began to use them for more nefarious reasons. Now, people associate them with evil or dark magics, but it's all about the intent.”

“So, the deal we made could give us an idea of how the bond manifests?”

“Words are part of it, but our individual intentions are more important. Unless we had harmful intentions for the other when making the pact, we know that the pact itself is safe.”

“That's good to know.”

“Ja, it also includes consequences of forming a blood pact. It seems that sharing heightened emotions was not uncommon for mutual pacts.”

Fjord raised an eyebrow in interest. “Really?”

“According to this, it was often documented in most of the loyalty and marriage pacts. Based on this information, we should only become concern if this pact begins to negatively impact one or both of us.”

“That's reassuring. Does it mention any other common effects for loyalty pacts?”

“There are a few things, but I don't believe we've experienced any of them. Hypersensitivity to the others touch, a telepathic link, shared abilities. Things of that nature.”

“Good to know." With a sigh, Fjord closed his book and handed it to Caleb. “I suppose we should thank Essek for helping us find this information.”

“I'll thank him for the books, but there's no reason to show our hand by telling him about this.”

“He doesn't know?”

“It's possible he could put the pieces together. I asked him to borrow these because I had an interest in bonds and deals. He didn't request a more specific topic of research and I didn't offer.”

“Probably for the best. The less people that know about it the better. For all we know, there could be ways people could use it to manipulate us.”

“Ja, exactly my thoughts. Best to keep it under wraps.”

As Fjord opened his mouth to speak, an object suddenly struck him in the side of the face that diverted his attention to the monk across the room. “What the fuck, Beau?”

“Just making sure the two of you didn't forget the rest of us are still here and none of us want to see you make out.”

“It's impossible to forget you're here, especially when you throw shit at me.”

“Well, I can't throw it at Caleb. He'll get knocked unconscious.”

“That is incorrect, but that doesn't mean you should throw things at people when you want to get their attention.”

“Whatever. If you're done, we're going to play a card game. You two want in?”

“Is there betting involved?”

“Of course. What would be the fun if we didn't bet?”

“I'll watch, but I have no interest in getting my money or whatever you're betting with stolen.”

* * *

Fjord watched in amusement as Caleb pecked playfully at the top of Beau's head, then let out a shrill shriek directly in her ear. Her hand pushed uselessly at the large beak but gave up when it earned her another peck on the head. Amusement mixed with affection poured through the bond as Caleb shifted back into his normal body. Beau immediately pulled him into a headlock that looked suspiciously closer to a hug than an attempt at revenge.

After releasing him from the hold, she gently pushed him in Fjord's direction. With a roll of his eyes, Caleb crossed the short distance to join Fjord on the rock he collapsed on as soon as the battle finished. The warmth of his body dropping next to Fjord helped him feel relaxed enough to finally let his guard down. Fjord let his body tip the tiniest bit to the side, so he leaned a small amount of his body against the wizard for support. A little shift sent Fjord off balance enough that most of his weight was now supported by Caleb. 

Rather than argue or try to straighten up, his eyes slipped shut as he gave into his exhaustion. The world around him faded to a swirl of the Mighty Nein's voice and the nature around him. Sleep almost had him when a strange noise broke through the peace.

“Fuck!” Beau's voice was the only warning he got before he found himself flat on his back with an enormous monster pinning him.

A set of claws ripped from his shoulder across the top of his chest splattering blood across his face. While desperately clinging to the last bit of life he had, his hands fumbled to shove the beast off his body. No amount of shoving did anything to the snarling creature at least twice his size and weight. All he succeeded in doing was causing a spark of pain to run through his body as his injuries pulled in the process.

As the creature reared back to bite down on him, a burst of fire slammed into the side of its face causing it to knock off course. “Fjord!”

Despite the blast of magic, the creature didn't divert its attention from the prey trapped beneath it. It shook the hit off, then bared its teeth once more and clamped down on Fjord's shoulder so hard he felt the bones break. Blood gurgled out of his throat as their claws once again racked through his broken body. All sensation went numb when the last thread clinging him to life finally snapped.

Darkness consumed him dragging him down and down and down. It wrapped around him like a blanket, until he felt suspended in its embrace. There was no fear or regret or pain, just expanses of nothing. A peaceful nothing. It wasn't until he felt a tug at the back of his head-a reminder of something more than the nothing-he began to push back.

The darkness remained, but he could hear the voices of his friends calling for him. He could hear the fear and anguish in their voices. One stood out among the rest. Soft and steady and begging for him to come back. Guiding him out of the darkness, until he broke through gasping for air.

“It worked!” Strong arms pulled him into a tight embrace that left him gasping for air again when Jester pulled away to look him over. “We were so worried. How do you feel?”

“Tired. Sore.”

“Let me look.”

Sure hands poked and prodded at him as magic washed over him stitching up the open wounds and fixing broken bones. When Jester was satisfied with her work, he gave her a thankful nod. After one more hug, she pulled away to give space for the others to pat him on the back and pull him into hugs of their own. Bone deep exhaustion sat heavy on him by the time he came face to face with Caleb.

Noticeable tear tracks stained his face and he looked nearly as exhausted as Fjord felt. He dropped beside Fjord like the strings holding him up had been cut, then wrapped his arms tightly around Fjord's neck. With what little strength he had left, his arms wound around Caleb's waist to give a light squeeze. His head dropped to the rest against the column of Caleb's throat and he let a shaky breath out.

“You're alive.”

“Yeah." His hands fisted Caleb's coat as the gravity of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. “Yeah, I am.”

“Let's keep it that way this time.”

“I'm on board with that idea.”

“Good, good.”

As he clung desperately to Caleb for support, his brain slowly processed the situation, until sudden realization punch him in the gut. “Caleb, I can't feel you.”

“I know.”

“It broke?”

“Ja.”

“Fuck.” He pressed his face harder against Caleb's throat as a tremor shook his body. “Fuck, I'm s-”

“Don't. There's no reason for you to be apologizing. I'm just glad you are alive.”

“You must have...”

A hand stroked through his hair, then Caleb pulled back with a heavy sigh forcing Fjord to leave his spot against his neck. “I am going to setup the hut for tonight, then you are going to get some rest. We can discuss this later.”

“Caleb, wait. I...”

“Later. Your body needs to heal.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“Just, don't go far.”

“Of course.”

* * *

“What are we doing?”

“You'll see in a few more minutes.”

While it was tempting to plant his feet and force Fjord's hand, the almost childlike giddiness coming from Fjord had him going along with it. He'd been shaken awake earlier than normal by a smiling Fjord that hustled him out of bed to get dressed for the day. Before leaving the house, Fjord insisted on wrapping a blindfold around his eyes. After a moment of hesitation, he consented to the strange request and let Fjord guide him to their destination. If he tried hard enough, he could've kept track of their movements to figure out where they were headed, but he let his mind wander instead.

When Fjord finally brought him to a stop, he waited patiently for him to remove the blindfold from his eyes. He was greeted with a sight he didn't recognize in the slightest. Glowing lichen covered the walls giving the structure a soft glow that allowed him to see. The stone floors were covered in moss and flowers that looked similar to some Caduceus had in his garden. 

“What is this place?”

“A little spot I stumbled on a while ago. It’s relaxing here.”

“It is.”

“I know it's no undersea hag’s lair, but I thought...” Fjord pulled a small dagger from its sheath at his waist that he held out. “We've been talking about it for a while. Now seemed like a good time.”

Without hesitation, Caleb took the dagger from Fjord's hand and set it gently against the raised scar on his palm. A smile quirked up Fjord's lips as he pulled out a second dagger that he pressed against his own scar. A tiny trail of blood slipped down his palm, but he showed no sign of pain or uncertainty.

“Same time?”

“Ja.”

“One, two, three.”

The blade cut easily through his skin leaving behind an open wound steadily oozing red. Blood dripped to the ground when he held out his hand for Fjord to take in his firm grip. Their blood mingled together as they stood palm to palm with the promise of a new pact hovering between them.

“Want me to go first?”

“It seems you are prepared. It's only fair.”

After tucking the dagger away, Fjord stepped closer and cradled Caleb's jaw carefully in his free hand. “When we first did this, I never imagined we'd be here again. It was a stupid, hasty decision that led to more than I could've imagined. When it went away, it felt like I lost a part of myself and I wasn't sure what to do with that hollow space. You were still there to lean on even though the pact was gone. There aren't enough words to explain what it means to me that you've stuck by my side for so long. I always know I can count on you to have my back, and I hope you know I have yours.”

“I do.”

“This new blood pact is both a renewal of the promise we made before and a promise of something more. A promise to trust and to love and to support you, and like the last, I promise for always.”

“How long did it take you to come up with that?”

Fjord rolled his eyes, then dropped a kiss to his forehead. “It's your turn now.”

“Well, I didn't have time to prepare since this was sprung on me this morning, so I apologize if what I have to say isn't as smooth as yours.”

“Apology accepted.”

“Dick.” Despite attempting to keep the affection out of his voice, he could hear how it obviously slipped through. “When we first met, I had no idea how much you would come to mean to me. I was in a very low place, and the family we made for ourselves is the reason I've been able to put some of that behind me. It still weighs on my shoulders, but it is a lot easier to carry with all of you to help.”

“We'll always be there for you.”

“Ja, I know. You never let me forget it. You are kind and compassionate and brave. There are so many things I admire and love about you. This new blood pact is both a renewal of the promise we made before and a promise of something more. A promise to trust and to love and to support you, and this time, I also promise for always.”

“You never cease to amaze me, Caleb.”

The hand on his jaw gently tipped his head to just the right angle for Fjord to leaned down and capture a kiss. He easily lost himself in the slide of their lips and the slow stroke of Fjord's thumb along his jaw. The dagger still clutched in his hand clattered against the ground as he reached up to grip Fjord's wrist. When their lips finally separated, they were pressed chest to chest with their bleeding hands tucked between them.

“Do you think it worked?”

“If it didn't, we can always try again.”

“That's very true.” They exchanged another kiss, then Fjord pulled away and released their hands with a low hiss. “We should get this tended to, so they heal properly. Come on, breakfast should be ready by now.”

“Did the others know about this?”

“I may have enlisted their help with a few things. It would've been impossible to make it a surprise if I did everything by myself.”

“Thank you, Fjord.”

A rush of warmth washed over him as Fjord entangled their bloody hands together. “You'd do the same for me. Now, let's go. They'll track us down if we don't get back soon.”

“Lead the way.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments and kudos always greatly appreciated. You can find me on Tumblr ([SociallyAwkwardFoxWriter](http://sociallyawkwardfoxwriter.tumblr.com/)) or Twitter ([@AwkFoxy](https://twitter.com/AwkFoxy)).


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